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Thursday, January 28, 2016

Vatican City, 28 January 2016 (VIS) -
The Holy Father Francis today received in audience the president of
the Republic of Togo, Faure Essozimna Gnassingbe, who subsequently
met with Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, accompanied by
Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, secretary for Relations with
States.

During the cordial discussions the
Parties acknowledged the good existing relations between the Holy See
and Togo, and the prospects for their further consolidation. Mention
was made of the contribution of the Catholic Church to the
development of the country and the integral progress of the Togolese
population, especially in the field of education.

Attention then turned to various
challenges affecting West and Sub-Saharan Africa, with special
emphasis on the need for joint commitment to the promotion of
security and peace in the Region.

Vatican City, 28 January 2016 (VIS) –
This morning in the Holy See Press Office a press conference was
held to present the 24th World Day of the Sick, to be celebrated in
Nazareth in the Holy Land on 11 February, feast day of Our Lady of
Lourdes, on the theme "Entrusting oneself to the merciful Jesus
like Mary: 'Do whatever he tells you'”, based on the account of the
wedding at Cana according to the Gospel of St. John.

The panel was composed of Archbishop
Zygmunt Zimowski, president of the Pontifical Council for Health Care
Workers (Health Pastoral Care), Msgr. Jean-Marie Mate Musivi
Mupendawatu, secretary of the same dicastery, Rev. Fr. Augusto
Chendi, under-secretary, Rev. Fr. Pietro Felet, S.C.I., secretary
general of the Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land and
local referent for the organisation of the World Day of the Sick
2016.

The place where the Day will be held –
Nazareth, in the Holy Land – is the first point to highlight, said
Archbishop Zimowski. Nazareth is the place of the incarnation, where
Jesus began His salvific mission and in Galilee cured many people, as
is narrated in the Gospel of St. Mark, read in these days, in which
Christ calls to the sick to heal them and, in turn, is called to by
them. "In a certain sense we are all constantly called upon,
although each person in a different way", explained the prelate.
"The human being suffers in different places and, at times,
suffers terribly. He calls to another person as he is in need of his
help and his presence. At times we are intimidated by the fact of not
being able to heal, of not being able to help like Jesus. Let us try
to overcome this embarrassment. The important thing is to keep going,
to stay beside the man who suffers. He needs, perhaps more than
healing, the presence of another person, of a human heart full of
mercy, of human solidarity".

"These are doctors, nurses, all
the representatives of the healthcare professions. They are the
institutions that serve human health. … We must support this great
tradition at all costs: the work of doctors and nurses is treated not
only as a profession but also and perhaps firstly as a service, as a
vocation. Care for the physically impaired and the elderly, care for
the mentally ill – these sectors constitute, more than any other
aspect of social life, the measure of the culture of a society and
the state".

Secondly, the archbishop remarked that
the Day occurs in the context of the extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy,
and that there will be a visit to the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre
and the Basilica of the Agony in Gethsemane, the places where Christ
gave Himself to the Father for our salvation. "Jesus unites
humanity through His Cross, and the celebration of the World Day of
the Sick in the Holy Land will help us to realise the wish Pope
Francis expressed in the Bull of Indiction, that is, that 'this
Jubilee year celebrating the mercy of God will foster an encounter
with [Judaism and Islam] and with other noble religious traditions;
may it open us to even more fervent dialogue so that we might know
and understand one another better; may it eliminate every form of
closed-mindedness and disrespect, and drive out every form of
violence and discrimination'. Every hospital and clinic, as the Holy
Father reminds us, can be a visible sign and place for promoting the
culture of encounter and peace, where the experience of sickness and
suffering, as well as professional and fraternal help, may contribute
to overcoming every limit and division".

Finally, the archbishop spoke about the
role of servants at the wedding of Cana, who Mary told to do as
Christ told them. "Naturally, the miracle takes place through
Christ's work; however, He sought human help in completing the
prodigy. He could have made the wine appear directly in the amphorae.
But He wants to count on human collaboration, and asks the servants
to fill them with water. How precious and pleasing to God it is to be
servants of others! This, more than anything else, makes us similar
to Jesus, Who 'came not to be served, but to serve'".

"The fruit of this Day must be
concrete: the closeness of our hearts that is expressed in mercy
towards the sick and needy, who must feel the closeness or proximity,
material and spiritual, of the entire Christian community", he
concluded. "It is important that they are not left abandoned or
alone as they face such a delicate moment in their life".

Fr. Chendi explained that the programme
of the Day is divided into three parts: liturgical moments;
theological-pastoral insights, with the presence on 9 February in the
Pontifical Institute Notre Dame Centre of Jerusalem of the Catholic
Ordinaries and Patriarchs and bishops of the sister Churches of the
Holy Land; and concrete gestures of charity, such as visits to
various hospitals and healthcare structures present in the area.

The under-secretary also mentioned that
plenary indulgence granted by Pope Francis to those who participate
in this Day, with the explicit intention that, through corporal and
spiritual works of mercy "they will encounter a renewed and
authentic witness and discover the Christian meaning of suffering and
its sharing among brothers".

With regard to the theological and
pastoral dimension, the congress of 9 February "will offer the
opportunity to identify problems, also of an ethical and pastoral
nature, that are urgent from both a legislative and a clinical and
care-related point of view. In particular, in the name of the
inviolable value of every human life and the unique dignity
characteristic of every person, attention will be paid to issues
regarding the end of life and the care of people with different
pathologies, both physically and psychologically invalidating".

In relation to the charitable
dimension, Fr. Chendi explained that the visits to various entities
working in the Holy Land, both Catholic and non-Catholic, will
constitute "a tangible sign of what Pope Francis describes in
his message as Mary's tenderness in Cana of Galilee, which translates
into a predisposition towards serving those in need and in particular
our brothers and sisters in sickness".

Vatican City, 28 January 2016 (VIS) –
The Holy Father has appointed Fr. Jose Hirais Acosta Beltran as
bishop of Huejutla (area 6,014, population 557,987, Catholics
502,752, priests 96, religious 67), Mexico. The bishop-elect was born
in Pezmatlan, Mexico in 1966 and was ordained a priest in 1993. He
has served in a number of pastoral roles in the diocese of Huejutla,
including parish vicar, vice rector of the minor seminary, professor
and formator at the major seminary and judge at the ecclesiastical
tribunal. He is currently diocesan administrator, prefect of studies
and spiritual director of the major seminary of Huejutla, defender of
the bond in the diocesan tribunal and member of the college of
consultors.